European Rubber Journal articles from January 2005

European Rubber Journal archives from January 2005

Icon buys Silvertown: begins search for new site.(News)
January 1, 2005... Byline: Liz White Icon Polymer Group has moved a step closer to its aim of becoming a [pounds sterling]50-million ([euro]90-million) turnover business with its 1 Jan purchase of the Silvertown UK Ltd business for [pounds sterling]10...

Jobs cuts likely at Hamburg-eventually.(News)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Rumours of redundancies at Phoenix AG's headquarters in Hamburg flew around the German press at the end of November, as Continental AG's takeover of its German competitor became a reality. Phoenix called a works meeting 30 Nov to clarify the...

Phoenix sells its Vibracoustic holding to Freudenberg.(News)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Freudenberg & Co. KG has become the sole owner of Vibracoustic GmbH & Co. KG, buying Phoenix AG's stake in the 50:50 joint venture. The sale was a requirement of the European Commission, before it would approve Continental AG's takeover of...

Forbo keeping flooring unit, as CVC bids to buy company.(News)(CVC Capital Partners)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Byline: Liz White Swiss flooring, adhesive and belting supplier Forbo Group has decided not to sell its flooring group, following a strategic review of the business. But the group is now the subject of takeover bids from CVC Capital...

Cooper completes sale of automotive unit; US tyre maker now has cash to develop tyre business.(News)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Byline: Liz White Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. completed the sale of its automotive business, Cooper-Standard Automotive, on 23 Dec. The Novi, Michigan-headquartered maker of weatherstrip, hose and antivibration parts has been bought for some...

Cardinal to sell glove factory.(News)(Cardinal Health Inc.'s rubber factory)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Cardinal Health Inc. plans to sell its only remaining rubber latex examination glove plant, eliminating 1000 jobs, and outsource manufacturing of the product. The factory, located in Penang, Malaysia, will cease production within the next...

DuPont Dow Elastomers to be dissolved, assets split.(News)
January 1, 2005... Byline: Liz White Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont Co. are to dissolve their 50:50 DuPont Dow Elastomers llc joint venture, set up with high optimism in 1995/6, and split the assets between them. Dow Chemical is exercising an option to sell...

See more supply sector stories at www.europeanrubberjournal.com.(News)
January 1, 2005... Lehmann & Voss buys Italian distributor... Henkel completes Sovereign adhesives buy... Vita buys Synair and its UK subsidiary CIL... Dwory sets share price for Warsaw flotation... Bridgestone buys Goodyear's final rubber estate... Sun...

Zeon to pay $10.5 million fine in NBR price-fixing plea.(News)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Zeon Chemicals LP has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $10.5 million criminal fine for participating in a conspiracy to fix prices of nitrile rubber. Zeon Chemicals-a subsidiary of Japan's Zeon Corp.-was charged with conspiring from May...

Cooper Tire to buy 11 percent stake in Kumho Tire; Investment in Korean tyre unit is first use for proceeds from Cooper-Standard sale.(News)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Byline: Liz White US tyre maker Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. is to acquire some 11 percent of the common equity of Korean-based tyre maker Kumho Tire. The purchase is connected with an IPO (initial public offering) planned for Kumho, said...

Conti pulls out of Moscow tyre making joint venture; Difficulties over long-term future of Moscow site cause Conti to cut its loses and terminate JV.(News: Moscow Tire Plant )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Byline: David Shaw Continental AG has decided to pull out of its Russian tyre-making joint venture with Moscow Tire Plant (MTP). The company put the venture on hold, freezing further payments in November and then announced an "amicable...

More stories on the web.(News)
January 1, 2005... Don't miss out on the news. We don't have room in the magazine for all the news that goes on the ERJ website, day in, day out. So make sure you get full value out of your subscription. Go to www.europeanrubberjournal.com to see these stories....

Lion Forest to make tyres in China.(News)(Lion Rubber Industries Sdn Bhd)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Lion Forest Industries Bhd, parent of Malaysian tyre maker Lion Rubber Industries Sdn Bhd, has signed a joint venture with a Chinese company to make Silverstone-brand tyres on behalf of Silverstone Corp. Bhd on the Chinese mainland. Both...

Bridgestone to build, modernise plants in Brazil; Japanese tyre maker will invest $260 million in Brazil, to build new car and LT tyres plant and modernise an old facility.(News)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Byline: Bruce Davis ERJ Akron bureau Bridgestone Corp. will spend more than $260 million ([euro]197 million) in Brazil over the coming two years to build a passenger and light truck tyre plant in Camacari and modernise an existing plant in...

Lanxess to expand halobutyl, CR production.(News)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Lanxess is to expand production of halobutyl rubber at its two plants in Sarnia, Canada and Antwerp, Belgium. The combined expansion will come at a cost of [euro]40 million and will increase Lanxess' total capacity by 25 percent, said Dr Axel...

Tire Technology Expo 2005.(Special Report)
January 1, 2005... Smithers wins testing contract Akron, Ohio-Smithers Scientific Services Inc. has received a $400 000 ([euro]302 000 contract from the California Energy Commission to study tyre characteristics as they relate to rolling resistance. The...

Tire Technology Expo to take place in Cologne, 22,23,24 Feb.(Special Report)
January 1, 2005... Over 90 speakers will present papers at the Tire Technology conference next month. With subjects ranging from The benefit of tyre and friction adaptive vehicle control strategies to The impact of the TREAD Act on TPMS systems, the conference is...

Exhibitor listing.(Special Report)
January 1, 2005... Company: Stand A.M.A SpA: 5310 ABAQUS Europe BV: 5370 Airtec Controls GmbH: 5116 Akron Special Machinery Inc.: 5008 *Akron Standard: 5018 Alpha Technologies (UK): 5206 Ammeraal Beltech BV: 5231 *Attrezzeria...

Schedule.(Special Report)
January 1, 2005... DAY 1 SESSION 1 Tyre design: views of OEMs, road engineers, f, and tier one suppliers on future tyres 10.00 - 10.15 Opening address - Tim Davis, FordMotor Co. 10.15 - 10.40 Failure mode avoidance Tim Davis, Ford Motor Co. ...

Exhibitor info: Part 1 of 4.(Special Report)
January 1, 2005... A.M.A SpA: Stand 5310 AMA, based in Bitonto, Italy, makes tyre moulds, notably for large tyres, truck tyres and agricultural tyres. The company also produces moulds for tubes and bladders. At the 2005 event, AMA is showing its latest...

China levies CR antidumping duties.(News)(polychloroprene rubber imports )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... China's Ministry of Commerce started charging antidumping duties 30 Nov of up to 15 percent against polychloroprene rubber imports from the US, Japan and the European Union. The ministry said it had been investigating polychloroprene rubber...

SBS-bitumen used on Millau viaduct.(News)
January 1, 2005... The new Millau viaduct in France-the highest cable-stayed bridge in the world-takes the A75 motorway across the Tarn, shortening the current route from Central France to Beziers near the Mediterranean coast, by some 100 km. The picture...

Manuli buys control of Pressure Hoses business; Italian hose group buys the rest of the shares of UK firm and opens Bologna technical centre.(News)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Byline: Liz White Milan, Italy-based Manuli Rubber Industries announced on 16 Dec that it has bought Pressure Hoses, a UK manufacturer of high-pressure hose assemblies for hydraulic systems. MRI has owned a 36.3-percent stake in...

Filler theory close to "major breakthrough".(Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining)
January 1, 2005... "I believe we are on the verge of further major breakthroughs," in understanding the mechanism of filler reinforcement of elastomers, Dr Vince Coveney told delegates from a 14 Sept meeting at the Geographical Society in London. Following...

New dispersion test.(News)(Columbian Chemicals )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Columbian Chemicals is investigating a new method-interferometric microscopy, using a Zygo instrument-to characterise filler dispersions in rubber, as described by Columbian's Joe Hallett. Advantages of the approach are that it uses modern...

Short aramid fibres will be used in tyres within a year; As well as better performance and cost savings, environmental matters are still high on the agenda in the rubber chemicals sector. Many speakers at the 9-10 November meeting referred, for example, to nitrosamine-free materials, while eliminating toxic chemicals such as ethylene thiourea was also a focus.(News)
January 1, 2005... Byline: Liz White Raw materials costs are preoccupying the tyre and rubber sector currently, with prices of all types of chemicals and polymers rising persistently in recent months. But judging from presentations at a recent conference in...

Fashion wave brings BiM back.(News)(bismaleimide)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... "Compounding has fashion waves and every few years returns to certain approaches," commented Dr Wolfgang Steinhoff of DuPont Dow Elastomers in Geneva, describing a renaissance in the use of bismaleimide (BiM). This is a material which has been...

C6 crosslinks from Lanxess.(News)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... A new material from Lanxess AG-1,6-bis(N,N-dibenzylthiodicarbamoyldithio)hexane) -"is a hybrid which offers crosslinking and reversion resistance, applicable "in nearly all fields of the rubber industry," according to Herman-Josef Weidenhaupt...

Car makers use parts made from post-consumer waste; Ford's Valentino Cerato and VTC's Gary Pollard spoke at a meeting on rubber and the environment organised by the Rubber in Engineering Group of the IOM3-held at the IOM3's headquarters in London, Fri 17 Dec 2004.(News)
January 1, 2005... Byline: David Shaw Wherever it is possible to replace thermoset rubber with more recyclable materials, Ford will do so, according to Valentina Cerato, chair of European Recycling Action Team at Ford of Europe. She said her team is keen...

Stock prices climb as oil prices ease.(News)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Information We present here a series of charts and tables which are meant to give a snapshot of how the rubber industry is performing. The price of rubber on the Singapore commodity exchange is possibly the most important price in the...

Diary.(Calendar)(Calendar)
January 1, 2005... * Macplas '05. 10-13 February, 2005, Bari. Contact Assocomaplast. Tel +39 02 8228371, fax +39 02 57512490. * Adhesives - diverse applications and new trends. 16 February: Brussels. Contact BPRI. Tel +32 9282 8054, fax +32 9282...

Dow does well from DDE carve-up.(Column)
January 1, 2005... Byline: David Shaw Although we foreshadowed the break-up of DuPont-Dow Elastomers a month or two back, I think I am not the only person surprised at the split agreed between the two shareholders. Let me summarise. DuPont is left with...

Dutch rubber firm Hoogerdijk bought out in New Year deal.(News)
January 1, 2005... Byline: Liz White Rubber manufacturer Hoogerdijk BV Technical Rubber of Son in the Netherlands has been bought by a former employee, Ferry van de Pasch, as of 1 Jan. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Van de Pasch gained backing for...

On the ERJ web site ... www.europeanrubberjournal.com.(News)
January 1, 2005... You can find tyre news we can't fit into the magazine... Pirelli factory in Carlisle, UK back on stream... Michelin reopens Shanghai tyre plant... Goodyear Aviation wins 5-year Ryanair contract... Bridgestone confirms plan to build two...

Datwyler buys small Swiss fluid and sealing firm.(News)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Byline: Liz White At the beginning of 2005, Datwyler unit Maag Technic AG of Dubendorf in Switzerland, acquired 100 percent of the shares of Richterich+Zeller AG. Seventy year old Richterich+Zeller, based in Basel, has a staff of nine...

www.europeanrubberjournal.com has more stories:.(News)
January 1, 2005... Avon's full year figures show falling sales, better profits... Goodyear adds jobs, capacity at US conveyor belt plant... John Crane buys Chinese seal-maker... Fifteen staff to go at United Polymer's Corsham plant... Yokohama establish...

Bridgestone to set up track plant in Poland.(News)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Bridgestone Corp. is to invest [euro]12 million set up a plant in Poland to make rubber tracks for earthmoving equipment. The plant, which will operate as Bridgestone Diversified Products Poland Sp.zoo, will meet rising European demand for...

ContiTech takes control of Phoenix in historic merger; Newly expanded ContiTech may be world's biggest technical rubber good business.(News)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Byline: Liz White Phoenix AG's shareholders agreed the final stages of Continental AG's purchase of its Hamburg-based German competitor 28 Dec, and Conti's technical rubber goods business ContiTech AG now also controls the Phoenix rubber...

Conveyor belt group gets new head.(News)(appointments)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Hans-Jurgen Duensing (left in picture) has been made general manager of the ContiTech Conveyor Belt Group. Duensing officially took over from 36-year ContiTech veteran Dr Richard Sohnemann (right) on 1 Jan 2005. Duensing will handle...

Crompton settles chemicals, EPDM and nitrile lawsuits.(News)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Crompton Corp. is budgeting $97 million to settle direct-purchaser class-action lawsuits related to price-fixing of rubber chemicals, EPDM and nitrile rubber. Crompton, whose Uniroyal Chemical unit has admitted wrongdoing in US and...

Former Bayer exec to plead guilty in chemicals probe.(News)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Former Bayer AG executive Martin Petersen has agreed to plead guilty to charges of participating in a conspiracy to fix prices in the rubber chemicals market during 2000-01. Petersen was head of global marketing and sales for Bayer's...

Sevalco fined over sustained leaks.(News)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Sevalco, the UK carbon black manufacturing arm of Columbian Chemicals, has been fined [pounds sterling]240 000 ([euro]350 000) following sustained leaks of cyanide into an important wildlife area. The company also has to pay [pounds sterling]70...

Exhibitor info: Part 3 of 4.(Special Report)
January 1, 2005... Marangoni Meccanica SpA: Stand 5314 Marangoni's machinery division, based in Rovereto, Italy, designs and builds tyre production and retreading equipment, plants and technologies. It also supplies the know-how and technical assistance to...

Exhibitor info: Part 2 of 4.(Special Report)
January 1, 2005... F.L.S Fuzzy Logik Systeme GmbH: Stand 5110 FLS, based in Dortmund, Germany, aims to build software systems built around non-conventional decision support systems. The company says it is showing equipment that can identify tyre and rims...

Exhibitor info: Part 4 of 4.(Special Report)
January 1, 2005... RJS Corp.: Stand 5316 RJS Corp., formed over 50 years ago in Akron, is a worldwide supplier of supporting equipment to the tyre industry. The company makes creel equipment, bead covering machines, bead apexing machine, rapid-ply band...

Sinopec buys SR technology.(News)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corp. has licensed its synthetic rubber production technology to China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec). Sinopec will use the technology to build a 100 kilotonnes per annum SR plant in the Shanghai Chemical Industry...

Diolen expands PET fibre capacity.(News)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Diolen Industrial Fibers will invest in two new spinning lines to increase the capacity for the recently introduced one-step polyester tyre yarns, at the company's facility in Emmen, the Netherlands. Diolen said it will increase capacity by...